The announcer called her Paula Hunt. She was definitely the biggest gymnast in a leotard that day and the most alluring dressed in pink. It’s the exciting uneven bars routine.
Let’s get on with it. Wow! She’s clumsy but she’s pulling it off with great composure. A few awkward moments but she manages to smooth them out every time. The announcer and the audience are not too kind though. They’re chuckling throughout. It’s all fun and game to them. Wait till you see the end of the routine – there’s no recovery from that. The applause, or rather, the laughter was thunderous. Seriously, do not eat or drink when you watch this.
Wait a minute! This was a man dressed in a female gymnastic leotard. Seriously? What was he doing? He’s a visionary, that’s all.
This was Paul Hunt at New York City’s world famous Madison Square Arena in 1981. He was a competition gymnast himself, retired and began a new career as coach in 1974. This MSG event was part of Romanian Olympics triple gold medalist Nadia Comăneci’s world tour. Nadia Comăneci was the first gymnast to be awarded a perfect 10 in an Olympics gymnastics event.
This was a hilarious comedy routine that stands on its own. On top of that, dare we say that Paul Hunt was a reluctant visionary of the LGBT movement?
